the moment my life stopped.

3:39pm to be exact. last weekend, i decided to hike up a small mountain near my house, probably equivalent to rib mountain. i left my house at 3:15 and decided that i would turn around after 30 minutes of hiking and go back home. well, that 30 minutes didn't come as i had expected. after checking my watch multiple times, i finally realized that it had stopped and i had been hiking for much longer than planned. i am not complaining though. i really enjoyed the climb and was impressed by the number of koreans hiking on a sunday afternoon.

hiking in korea is a favorite activity for people of all ages. i see children as young as two or three hiking up these enormous hills with their ambitious parents, as well as elderly people barely grasping onto life. i suppose it would be a peaceful way to die. it reminds me of why the korean people are so healthy as a whole. since korea is 70% mountainous, hiking has become a regular passtime for people, especially those hoping to spend time exploring nature. my favorite part about korean hikers is their attire. every korean hiker looks like a semi-professional. stores simialar to wal-mart sell outdoor apparel. most of it seems like nice stuff, but it all looks the same. the colors may vary a bit, but every true hiker will be seen with a bright-colored wicking shirt, bandana tied around their neck , wool socks up to their knees, generic hiking boots, a fancy looking backpack and trekking poles. it can a bit intimidating to see those folks on the subway. i always think to myself, "whoa! they must be about to climb mount everest." the interesting part is that when i get off the subway and climb the stairs to exit, many of these hardcore-looking hikers are stopped mid-step, taking a mini-break! if climbing a set of stairs takes their breath away, these mountains must not be too intimidating...

...well, another foolish thought. the mountains here are indeed mountains. much taller than rib mountain (which in fact is a hill, not a mountain). my co-teacher asked me if i was free on saturday. i was, so i accepted the offer to go hiking with his family. i figured it would be a family-friendly trip since his kids are about 8 and 10 years old. he picked me up early and we left for oseosan, aka oseo mountain. he had never been to this mountain, but heard that it should be beautiful this time of year because of a special reed-like plant that is in season. we drove about 3 hours south of incheon before we arrived at mt. oseo. it was very cool to see the mountain in the distance, driving closer, knowing that we would soon be at the top. maybe "soon" is exaggerating a bit, but i think we made good time.

after eating a lunch of seafood noodle soup, we were ready. we kept a decent pace the whole way. if i had been alone, i would have gone about the same speed, maybe with fewer stops. however, when we stopped, they were very quick breaks to check out the scenary, chug some water, or simply catch our breath. i was so impressed by bo's children. when i was their age, i constantly complained on family hikes, but these kids were troopers.

the mountain started out fairly easy, but then the incline increased dramatically. i could not believe how steep some of the areas were. there were rope railways in certain areas because it was so steep and a bit sandy, so it was difficult to get good footing (slipping backward occasionally). other parts were quite rocky, but just as steep, without a rope railing. in these parts, i had utilize 4-point contact aka crawling. it was quite exciting, but i think i had a few mild moments of acrophobia (fear of heights).

reaching the summit was enlightening. after a few hours of hard work in a heavily forested area, it is so thrilling to be able to fully absorb the surrounding scenary. the best part may have been that a man was selling ice cream at the very top of the mountain. exactly how he gets it up there is a mystery to me. he had it stored in some large coolers stashed with dry ice. never has a soft melon bar tasted so delicious.

back to the title of this post. everything around me seems to be falling apart (just tanglible things for now). my watch stopped, so i replaced the battery. however, it still stops occasionally, so i can never trust the time on my watch. i am disappointed because it is my favorite watch, but perhaps i will have to invest in a new one. in other news of broken down contraptions, my ipod is not functioning. the battery was dying, so i ordered a new one, put it in, and now it is still not working properly. i don't really want to send it to the apple company because i no longer have a warranty and will be charged excessively. it may be in my better interest to just buy a new mp3 player here, probably not another ipod (i've had way too many issues with them). i lost my camera several weeks ago (including 50 or so photos that i hadn't uploaded yet). luckily, i found a new (used) camera on craigslist for only $65. it is a very nice, compact canon. several years old, but work perfectly. next on the list of problems would be my laptop. after a month of waiting patiently, i finally got the internet at my place. sadly, i don't have a functioning computer to use it with. my dell xps 1330 is having issues. it will randomly freeze and turn itself off. the most enjoyable part is when it has its own firework display. there is something wrong with the video display, so it will flash crazy colors in random shapes. i did some research and found out that dell used a faulty chip in this model and many people are experience the same exact problem. the company will replace the chip, but it sounds like they are putting the same one in, so it is only a matter of time before the problem occurs again. needless to say, i am quite upset about the situation. it doesn't help that i am in korea. my teacher is trying to help me communicate with the korean dell man, mr. choi, but so far i have a broken laptop. hopefully this week i will either mail in somewhere to be fixed, or a serviceman will come to me. the sooner, the better. i hate to be paying for unused internet...

so once again i am at the pc bang writing this post. fortunately, there aren't as many prepubescent boys, probably because it is sunday evening. it's less than a dollar per hour, so i won't go broke, but i sure do love the convenience of going online while laying bed...